Chaparosa Grill HH

Chaparosa Grill located in The District at Tustin Legacy, is not really noticeable at first glance. However, they have an afternoon happy hour from 3 to 7pm Mon-Friday that has a few reasonably good deals. For example, their appetizers include the Happy Hour burger ($5), which consists of a hamburger and fries. A good price for a restaurant for an entire meal. However, it is a little on the smaller portion side.
Domestic beer bottles are priced at $2.75 each. And, imports including Red Stripe are priced at $3.75.
Other appetizers include the Jambalaya ($6.50) and Asian nachos ($4.50, pictured). The Jambalaya wasn't that flavorful according to those that ordered it at the table. The Asian nachos are made up of Wonton skins, wasabi, teriyaki sauce, cheese and chicken. They weren't anything special though, I'm personally not a fan of wasabi on my nachos.
Overall, the happy hour at Chaparosa Grill isn't anything special.

The Daily Dose Happy Hour

The Daily Dose Sports Bar is located in the same plaza off of Jamboree and Michelson that CPK and Mizuki are both found in. They have late night happy hour specials 7 nights a week. The night that we chose to go was on Sunday night. Where they have $3 domestics and $4 imports. Their food is not on special however. But their prices aren't bad either. Note: Due to this being a bar, only 21 and older are allowed inside the entire venue.
Those at my table ordered Amstel and Fat Tire beers that came to $4 each for bottles. And food that was ordered included Beef Taquitos ($6) and a personal pepperoni pizza ($8). Both of which were good, but not anything out of the ordinary. And the beers were the same as buying a bottle at any other bar or even store. The atmosphere was very much that of a sports lounge, albeit a compact one. There were several HD monitors broadcasting sporting events and ESPN. Nothing special about this happy hour in and of itself, my suggestion is to pass on it.

Irvine China Garden HH

Irvine China Garden located on Jeffrey in Irvine, is completely misleading in advertising its late night specials. Both on Yelp and by calling them, they claimed to have late night dim sum specials from 10pm to 12am and a full bar. Upon arriving and being seated, it took 15 mins for anyone to come over and take our order. Despite the title of the restaurant having the subtitle "Dim Sum Restaurant", the waiter told us that they don't serve any. And that their late night specials were only pertaining to other dishes priced $5.50-$10. Most of them were noodle dishes.
Their full bar on the other hand consisted of sake, bud light and Budweiser. None of which were on special either. The food that we ordered included a seafood combination pan fried noodle (pictured) and a spicy beef dish. Both of which were not good.
This place was awful from its misleading falsification of its menu items and prices to its lack of anything resembling good service. Do not visit Irvine China Garden if you're looking for a deal or anything but rude employees.

Mizuki Happy Hour

Mizuki, a Japanese Sushi and Ramen house located next to Sport Chalet off of Jamboree in Irvine, has great late night specials. The atmosphere is laid back and high end. 7 nights a week there are specials from 7pm to midnight. Wednesday nights, there is 1/2 off all sushi and $1 hot sake. Note: Wednesday nights have no crowds either.
The hot sake is good for those that like to sip on their alcohol like tea, rather than take shots or chug beer. The sushi that my group tried included the spicy Godzilla roll (pictured), Salmon Skin hand roll and California hand roll. The hand rolls were all good tasting, but were also small. They were just one hand roll per order. Unlike the sushi that came on plates of several small rolls. Everyone who ordered sushi liked what they ordered and agreed that it was a great value for the portions and quality of the food that was received. Next time you're hungry late at night, be sure to hit up Mizuki for great Japanese flare.

Charlie Palmer's HH

Charlie Palmer's is a steakhouse located next to Bloomingdale's in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The atmosphere is very upscale but also relaxed. Most people in the restaurant dress up slightly in order to go to this location. Late night happy hour is from 10pm to midnight Tues-Sat. This happy hour includes 1/2 off glasses of wine, cocktails as well as draft beers.
The Lychee Martini ($7, regularly $14) is one of the cocktails ordered by my table. Those that had it thought that it was very good in the sense that it wasn't too strong on the alcohol and tasted like something someone who doesn't like liquor would want to drink.
The beers that were ordered, included the Golden Monkey (pictured) that was $3.50 (normally $7), and the Gonzo. The Golden Monkey looks like a light wheat beer, something along the lines of Blue Moon. However, it is a misleading appearance, given that it tastes like a dark beer, similar to Guinness. The Gonzo beer is a dark beer, but looks as dark as you would expect it to.
Appetizers ordered included the lamb burger slider, kobe beef sliders and calamari. All of which were ranging from $9 to $10 and were not on happy hour special. However, the table said that the kobe and lamb sliders were enjoyable, but to pass on the calamari, which was said to have been overly dry.
Charlie Palmer's is a good choice if you just feel like having a drink in a high end atmosphere, but skip it if you want to get good deals on food.

Elephant Bar HH

Elephant Bar, located on Culver in Irvine, just implemented a late night happy hour. 9pm to close 7 days a week. On weekdays, the bar closes at 10pm. All happy hour deals are only honored if you dine in the bar area. The deals include appetizers ranging from $3 to $6. As well as drinks ranging from $2 to $6. Appetizers include the Quick Seared Ahi Tuna with Ponzu ($6), Vietnamese Shrimp Spring rolls ($5) and the Baja chicken quesadilla ($4). All of which were thought to be good by those who ordered them, however the spring rolls were thought to be a little on the plain side as far as taste quality goes.
Domestic beers are $3, but only include drafts such as Bud and Coors. For imports like Stella, there are choices of small (pint for $5) or Tall (pictured, right $6). Also martinis and margaritas are available for $6 each and well drinks are priced at $3 each. The atmosphere for Elephant Bar consists of a rounded bar area, with t.v. monitors displaying various sports programming and tall tables meant to be stood at, with only a few actual seats.
Not an amazingly out of the ordinary happy hour, but the fact that many people have to stand made this a unique and in some ways, more social happy hour than others that have seating at a large table.

Opah HH

OPAH, located in The Marketplace in Irvine, is right next door to BJ's Brewery. The name OPAH, many mistake to be of Greek origin, however this restaurant is actually named after the OPAH fish found in Hawaii. And is also Hawaiian in theme. Their happy hour is from 9pm to 11pm on Friday and Saturday night. Its one of the rare late night happy hours that you're going to find in the area for the weekend.
All appetizers are half off. Ranging from Buttermilk calamari, Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp (pictured left), and Thai BBQ Pork, Mango and Brie Spring Rolls.
The calamari are the best deal as far as the amount of food goes. For $5 you get enough food for a small meal. The Prosciutto wrapped shrimp, which are wrapped in bacon, mozzarella cheese and tomatoes are very tasty, but still expensive with the happy hour discount ($6), given that there are only 3 of them per plate. The spring rolls give your four rolls for $6, and were thought to be a good value by those that ordered them in my group.
As far as drinks go, there were $4 draft beers, $6 glasses of wine, $6 martinis and the signature Opah Moonshine drink for $6. The peach and mango martinis were ordered by our table and were thought to taste very good, without being too strong or weak on the alcohol content. The Opah Moonshine consists of Vodka, Schnapps and Grenadine (pictured left). It tastes very sweet, but is not strong enough to really be worth the price. The beers include Stella, Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada tastes similar to many pale ales and is well worth the price.
If you're looking for an upscale late night happy hour on a weekend, OPAH is worth checking out.

Lazy Dog HH

The Lazy Dog Cafe, located in the Irvine Marketplace, gets its name from the restaurants' unique policy of allowing you to bring your dog with you when you enter its doors. Not from serving only hot dogs, as some have mistakenly though.
During their late night happy hour from 9pm to midnight Sun-Thurs (in the bar area and outside patio areas only), there are $5 personal pizzas, $2.95 cajun fries and $2 off all other appetizers. There are also House drafts served in pints for $3.50, wine by the glass for $3.95 and a selection of other mixed drinks including a Champagne Mojito for $5.
Most of the pizzas that are served are your run of the mill (i.e. bbq chicken, pepperoni, etc.), however there is a unique item called the "U.F.O." pizza (pictured). This pizza is served on 3 diff tortilla chip like slices with onions, shredded beef, tomato, cheese and thousand island dressing. Everyone who ordered this pizza in the group seemed to like it and compared it to a giant nacho.
The House beers including the Hefeweizen, pale ale and honey blonde were all standard for what you would expect from such selections and as such were all well received by the group.
The Champagne Mojito, another unique selection to the lazy dog cafe, was well liked by those that ordered it, it reportedly wasn't too strong and had a good kick to it.
The Cajun fries are a good appetizer to order for the table, one order usually works for a group of 3.
With its laid back atmosphere and unique selections of both food and drinks, the Lazy Dog HH is definitely worth checking out.

Anthill Pub & Grill HH

The Anthill Pub & Grill located on the UCI campus, has a daily happy hour Mon-Fri, from 4 to 7pm. Featuring $1 off of pints and $3 off of pitchers. The pub features a huge variety of beers that aren't found at most other happy hours. Such as Arrogant Bastard, Longboard, Great White and Purple Haze.
*Note: Pitchers are just big enough to fill 3 pint glasses. Also, there are no food deals during hh.
My table tried the aforementioned 4 beer varieties in pitchers. Longboard and Great White taste very similar to each other. Both of which are light wheat beers that go down smoothly. Purple Haze is a very very light beer that even those that don't like the taste of most beers, would most likely appreciate. And Arrogant Bastard is the darkest of the beers at the pub. Depending on how you like your beer, this is either your favorite or least favorite. Its much stronger than the light beers and makes Guinness seem like a light beer as well. However, it is the cheapest way to get a buzz from the pub. Given that its so much stronger than the other selections.
There's nothing that special about the Anthill Pub's HH, but it is worth checking out if you happen to be on the UCI campus.

Pinkberry HH- Tustin

Pinkberry during the summer of 2010, is having an everyday happy hour from 5 to 7pm. The Pinkberry at the District in Tustin is no exception. Any watermelon flavored frozen yogurt is half off during this time. This also includes a mix of half watermelon and half another flavor. Its a good deal if you are in the mood for frozen yogurt.
Those in my group ordered half watermelon and half regular flavored frozen yogurt and got many toppings such as Strawberries and cap'n crunch. The total of everyone's individual yogurt came to about $2.75. Pinkberry makes for a good afternoon happy hour if you're looking for something to give you a break from the warm summer weather.

Benihana Happy Hour

Benihana, located on Birch Street in Newport Beach, has an expensive connotation with its name. However, during their happy hour from 5 to 8pm Mon-Thurs in the Sushi Bar and Lounge, there are many good deals on both food and drinks.
For drinks, they offer a $2 hot sake w/as many shot cups as you ask for. $3 bottles of bud light and $4 bottles of Kirin Light. Well drinks are $4 each and cocktails including the famous Benihana Punch, are priced at $5. (Note: the Benihana punch doesn't come in the buddha mug during happy hour).
Hand rolls including salmon and yellowfin, are priced at $2.50 each, while individual pieces can be purchased at 1/2 price, (around $1.13 a piece). And dragon boats and certain rolls can be purchased for about $6.
Most people at my table ordered the Kirin light beer, (from the bottle, not on tap) and the Benihana Punch. The beer is nothing unique, but was enjoyed by all who ordered it. The punch was considered to be average, there wasn't that much alcohol in it and there was no world famous buddha mug to add to the effect of the drink.
All who ordered food, including the Dragon Boat and salmon sushi pieces, enjoyed them and thought that they were appropriately priced for the portion and quality.
Added together with a very upscale ambiance and Benihana makes for a great after work/class relaxing happy hour.

Tokyo Table Happy Hour

Tokyo Table, located in Diamond Jamboree Plaza in Irvine has a late night happy hour Sunday-Thursday from 10pm to close (midnight). With last call for food at 11 and last call for drinks at 11:30pm.
**Note: The deals for happy hour consist only of drinks, and there are NO food deals.
As far as beer goes, there's a pretty good deal for a pitcher of Sapporo for $10 (pictured right). And many of the cocktails such as the vodka soda are half off. However, some drinks are only 20% off, so make sure to ask your waiter which drinks are half off before ordering.
The Lychee Vodka soda was ordered by many at my table and was well received by all who tried it. The Sapporo was a good value for the money and was both good tasting and filling.
The food ordered by my party were mostly appetizers priced between $4.95 to $7.95, as well as some smaller side dishes priced around the same. However, none really stood out as amazing quality or value.
Tokyo Table overall has a good atmosphere and great deals on beer and some drinks. However, as an all encompassing happy hour, it is seriously lacking in its food offerings. Final note: *recommended if you feel like drinking only

Applebee's HH

Applebee's, located in Fountain Valley on Brookhurst has a late night happy hour from 9pm to midnight 7 days a week. And, each day has an individual special during this time as well. For example, on Friday's they have $2 beer pints.
When my group and I tried Applebee's late night hh, there were $3 single flavored margaritas as well as the usual late night deal of $3 brewtus drafts. These drafts included Haywire Hefeweizen as well as Stella. Both of which are good deals for $3. Many appetizers are also priced at under $5. Be advised that these deals are only available in the bar area. One of the appetizers that was on special for $4.99 was the chicken quesadilla. This was a full sized appetizer big enough for at least 2 people and is a great selection to complement the beer. If you happen to be around the Fountain Valley area, this late night happy hour is a fun place to get good deals and chill with friends.

Lucille's Happy Hour

Lucille's SmokeHouse BBQ, located at the District at Tustin Legacy has a late night happy hour from 9 to 10pm. Although that's not much time, you won't have to vacate the bar (a.k.a. the flying pig lounge) until around 11pm. During hh, there are appetizers ranging in price from $1.95 to $5.95. The most popular appetizer ordered was the Irish nachos (pictured left), consisting of french fries, sour cream and cheddar cheese. The portion is a great deal for the price and its very good tasting as well. The Catfish Tacos on the other hand, we're also ordered by those at my table and we're not nearly as good a deal. For $5.95, you get 2 small catfish tacos without any sides. A silver lining to that is that when you order anything at Lucille's, you are served as many bread rolls and as much apple butter as you can eat.
House beers on tap include Hefeweizen, Amber Ale and Honey Blonde. All of which are served in 22 oz. glasses for $3.75. This is the best deal that my group and I have found on beer since the end of Capital Seafood's Happy Hour. Combined with the Irish nacho appetizers, Lucille's is a great late night happy hour with a relaxed atmosphere for you and your friends to dine and chill at.

STRIKE Happy Hour

STRIKE bowling alley is located in The District at Tustin Legacy. Happy Hour is from 9pm to midnight Sunday through Thursday. Featuring $3.75 domestic drafts, $4.25 imports, $5 well drinks and discounted appetizers, all of which are $6 or under.
The atmosphere in STRIKE is very casual and laid back. With music videos projected onto screens mounted at the end of each bowling lane. As many people know, drinking and bowling can add a whole different dimension to the sport and make it even more fun. With the lighting, music choice (usually hip hop and R&B) and decor of the alley, people feel very at ease and are more than likely to have a fun time.
The appetizers that my group had tried included the Southwest nachos (4.95) and Cheddar cheese fries (3.95). Both of which were very good and accompanied the beers that everyone had ordered. The most prominent one in the group being a Sam Adams lager.
Bowling itself however, is not discounted during Happy Hour. And costs $6.45 per person/per game. But overall, STRIKE is a highly recommended happy hour for those looking to have a night out of drinking while also playing a competitive game.

The Balcony Happy Hour

The Balcony, located on the 2nd floor of Diamond Jamboree offers an all day, every day happy hour. Which is another way of saying that they don't have a happy hour. However, due to the lack of happy hour choices on a Friday night, my group and I decided to sample this place. There's an advertisement on their menu saying that they have happy hour deals on appetizers from $2.95 to $5.95. But, this doesn't mean all of the appetizers, its actually only talking about appetizers that are regularly priced in that area.
They're pints of beer including Blue Moon and Heit, are all around 4 dollars each. Which isn't terrible, but also isn't exactly the best happy hour deal either. The appetizer that my table tried was the calamari dish, priced at $6.95. It was prepared in an asian style as opposed to the usual deep fried kind that most of us are used to. The dish was tasty, but again it wasn't even specially priced for "happy hour."
To sum up, if you have another option for happy hour, pass on The Balcony.

Dave and Buster's: The Ultimate Happy Hour

Dave and Busters aka DnB's located in the Irvine Spectrum is the classic happy hour that everyone who just turned 21 wants to go and try. The atmosphere is fun and laid back and there are endless games to play after you're done drinking. Happy hour here doesn't include food, but all cocktails are half off and beer and wine are discounted. Late night happy hour is 9pm to 11pm sun-thursday. Wednesday nights are 1/2 off games as well. Thursday nights are known as college nights (these nights are packed and a lot of fun, however there is also a 3 dollar cover charge per person and service is extremely hard to get due to the high volume of traffic).
Some favorite drinks that I and my groups have tried include the AMF, Long Island Iced tea (some people say that these are the strongest of the cocktails). They might be right, however be aware that DnB's cocktails often end up tasting better than most because less alcohol is used when preparing them. For those that don't like cocktails and want something a little faster, there are shooters. Including such picks as the Scooby Snack and Alien secretion. These goofy names refer to very fruity and tasty small shots of mixed drinks. They taste good, but don't really affect anyone the way they would expect alcohol to (meaning they are mostly mixer and not liquor.).
Also, for happy hour be aware that if you order the "Over and Under" drinks, they are not on happy hour and will be full price. The reason for this is that you keep the souvenir glass that comes with a shot and built in chaser.
If you want something stronger than the drinks mentioned above, you could always go with the Jaeger bomb (pictured) or Irish car bomb. These two consist of shots that are dropped into a chaser of energy drink or dark beer and taken in one gulp.
Another top choice was the Million Dollar Margareta. This is a semi strong mixed drink cocktail that was popular among those that I dined with. Beer is also on discount, for certain sizes and drafts. However, DnB's is typically the place that people go to try other types of drinks.
For atmosphere and fun, DnB's is the ultimate happy hour to check out.

Daily Grill

The Daily Grill, located on Jamboree and Dupont in Irvine has a happy hour that is offered for 3 hours every day of the week. It lasts from 4 to 7pm, making it an excellent choice for a nice place to go for dinner.
Happy hour prices only pertain to those eating in the bar area, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to be 21 or over. Only those ordering alcohol in the bar area have to show ID. The appetizers range in price from $2.95 to $3.95. Popular choices among those that I dined with included the popcorn shrimp, fried calamari, spicy blue cheese fries, loaded mac and cheese and the spinach artichoke dip.
Everyone enjoyed most of the dishes, especially the calamari (which can be doubled for a dollar more). However, the spinach artichoke dip was not well received by those that ordered it. Therefore making it not a recommended appetizer to order.
The beers that are on special include Sam Adams and Miller Lite, served in pints. Each goes for $3.50. Everyone ordered the Sam Adams, since Miller is a much more common beer, available at many other places for better prices. The Sam Adams pints were enjoyed by all those that ordered them.
The Daily Grill has a relaxed atmosphere, with great deals on food appetizers and on the Sam Adams beer. Making it a great place to eat and drink with friends.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings located in Lake Forest, has a fun and relaxed atmosphere to it. However, they're happy hour deals are not the best to be found. There are your $3 tall glasses (about a pint and a half) during hh, however they are only of a select few domestic beers, such as Coors, Bud Light and Miller Light. The other beers such as Blue Moon, are discounted only by 75 cents. And food is 25% off when you order it in the bar area.
The service was very nice and efficient. However, due to the fact that only the most common and cheapest beer had any real discount, I would recommend passing on Buffalo's Happy Hour unless you are in the mood for a lot of wings.